Birdland - Bourton-on-the-Water | A day of bird photography

We took an hour drive to Bourton-on-the-Water, to visit one of our favourite spots for getting close up shots of our favourite birds, including the frogmouth, the southern ground hornbill, red-legged seriema, the plover and so much more. If you haven’t visited Birdland, it’s a great spot to take the family, in close vicinity to the little village of Bourton-on-the-Water.

We’ve been here a few times, but wanted to test out our new 100-400mm lens that we got for Christmas, paired with my Sony A7CII (33 megapixel full-frame) - an unrivalled combination for capturing crispy wildlife photography. 

Tickets were only £14.95 per adult, which we thought for the size of the park, were a bit of a steal. Although, we’re considering a membership as we’re more than likely to be visiting the park again in the New Year. As you walk into the park, you’re greeted by penguins, being home to two species, the Humboldt and the King. We were able to capture some great shots of these slippery amigos that you can see in this blog and via my portfolio. 

At Birdland, you can see avocets, ibis, spoonbills, and a whole host of different types of owls, but my personal favourite had to be the southern ground hornbill. We saw grey hornbills in Sri Lanka so it always makes me happy to see this species of bird. The ground hornbill is native to Namibia, South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini. Whilst similar to the Grey Hornbill, this type of hornbill is the largest of the species and has an awesome wingspan of around four feet. Often, their bird call can be mistaken for lion roars.

We also came across a red-legged seriema, a carnivorous bird that eats venomous snakes and small prey. They’ve been recorded to run at speeds of 40 miles per hour, over double the speed of an average man. Native to Bolivia and Brazil, these species inhabit dry grassland and nest in the lower areas of trees.  

Birdland is also home to the Cassowary, and was proud to announce the first-ever hatching of chick in the UK. Whilst this is a wholesome story, Cassowary are lethal with 10cm-long claws and are the only bird in the park to have a risk assessment to their name. In the wild, they’re found in New Guinea and Australia, with their name meaning horned head in Papuan. 

If you like the sound of just a small amount of the birds I’ve described, there’s so much more to see at Birdland. Learn more about Birdland and be sure to check out my photography portfolio.